Japanese Lower House campaign begins

Official campaigning began on Tuesday for Japan's upcoming Lower House election.

It is widely believed that the campaign will likely to be a three-horse race between the ruling coalition and other two newly-formed opposition parties.

The vote takes place on Oct. 22, with politicians hoping to win a seat in Japan's lower house.

A total of 289 lawmakers will be elected directly and 176 will be elected through a system of proportional representation.

The election will mainly be fought between three major parties, led by current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party.

Abe has said if his ruling coalition does not achieve the minimum majority needed in the election of a combined 233 seats, then he will step down.

As with previous elections, the prime minister began his own campaign in Fukushima Prefecture in a bid to draw attention to the government's recovery work since the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.

However, Abe's ruling coalition is facing stiff opposition from the Democratic Party, and the newly-formed Party of Hope headed by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike.

Koike has outlined election pledges that distinguish her party from the ruling bloc.